December is usually a magical time of year for NBA fans. The holiday season is in full swing. The NBA Christmas games are a highlight of the season, and the NBA Cup, which just finished its second run in Las Vegas, is an exciting new wrinkle the NBA thrust into the first half of the season. Despite the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 8-5 record in the last month of 2024, it was not a December to remember for Timberwolves fans living and dying with every possession.
The Wolves looked like the defensive juggernaut from last season had returned after a lackluster start to the season on both ends of the court. They held the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, and Golden State Warriors to 80, 80, and 90 points, respectively. That capped off a four-game winning streak that saw the Wolves post an 87.7 defensive rating, 15.2 points per 100 possessions better than Oklahoma City’s league-best defense this season.
Minnesota’s defensive resurgence saved it from a dismal 8-10 start to the most anticipated season in franchise history. It reminded everyone they were still lethal when the defense rose to the occasion.
However, a bad loss to the Warriors ended the streak. The Wolves led most of the game but blew the lead in the third quarter. They then fought back from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to take a 106-105 lead, but they lost 114-106.
The Timberwolves didn’t score a point in the last 4 minutes and 47 seconds of the game.
They went on to win their next two games with renewed defensive intensity: a 97-87 win over the Lakers and a 106-92 win against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. Still, the Golden State loss was an omen for the rest of the month.
Karl-Anthony Towns returned home and brought the boom to his old team, leading the New York Knicks to a 26-point victory in his old stomping grounds. The Wolves only led for 44 seconds in another loss to the Warriors, in which they held the Timberwolves scoreless for the first 6 minutes and 22 seconds of the second quarter. Then, a first and fourth-quarter meltdown against the Atlanta Hawks dropped Minnesota back to the .500 mark at 14-14.
The up-and-down nature of the 2024 Timberwolves hit a crescendo on Christmas Day. Minnesota opened up a 28-point lead against the Dallas Mavericks, who thwarted the Wolves seven months prior in the Western Conference Finals. Kyrie Irving and Co., operating without an injured Luka Dončić, came roaring back to cut Minnesota’s lead to two points and were a missed Kyrie three away from taking a 102-101 lead with 36 seconds left.
Minnesota escaped an all-time disaster on Christmas Day.
The Timberwolves flipped the narrative by erasing a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to eke out a 113-112 win of the season against the third-place Houston Rockets. The inspired comeback erased a bunch of lousy basketball for 3.5 quarters and turned what should have been another big loss to a good team into a huge triumph. In the last two games, the Timberwolves almost suffered another bad loss but held on against the Spurs. Then, the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder outclassed them in the second half of a 113-105 loss on New Year’s Day.
The Timberwolves sit at 17-15 and are eighth in the strong Western Conference. On the positive side, the Wolves are only two games out of fourth place and a home playoff series. However, they’re only two games ahead of 11th place and missing the playoffs entirely.
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
Minnesota has the sixth-best defense in the NBA but the 22nd-rated offensive unit. The numbers aren’t much different for the month of December when the Wolves posted the second-best defensive rating but the 23rd-best offensive rating.
Anthony Edwards had his worst scoring month since March 2022. Minnesota’s free throw rate is concerning and cratered in December when the Wolves couldn’t even make the few free throws they were awarded. Donte DiVincenzo has awoken after his sleepy start with the Wolves through October and November.
Still, Jaden McDaniels can’t buy a bucket. Naz Reid shot 28.8 percent from three in December and rarely looked like the reigning sixth man of the year. Julius Randle is playing his own style of jazz. Mike Conley might be respectfully washed. Rob Dillingham played sparingly in four games, and the rest of Minnesota’s developmental players, aside from Josh Minott, might as well be dead to Chris Finch.
To the naked eye, December was Minnesota’s best month of the season. However, to the trained observer, it forebodes a more sinister second half of the season to come with more blown leads, grinding offense, baffling rotation decisions, and the occasional comeback and game-winner to keep the fans docile.
The Timberwolves will need a spark in January to get the team back on track after the franchise-altering preseason trade sending KAT to New York for Randle, and DiVincenzo has worked wonders for KAT and the Knicks and left the Wolves in play-in limbo. Jordan Love has the Toyotathon to help him become an MVP-caliber quarterback every December. The Timberwolves might need a similar sales campaign to straighten Anthony Edwards and the team out to climb back into a guaranteed playoff spot and recertify their place as a contender.